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4B Pedal Platform
Open software and hardware infrastructure for building digital effects pedals.
The layer between an idea for an effect and a finished pedal: a DSP core, a parameter and preset system, hardware abstractions, and build tooling. Shared across every FOURBILLION and GOREBANG pedal.
What it is
A set of libraries and conventions for building digital effects, targeting both a plugin host and the 4B Core hardware from the same source:
- A DSP core with a block-based processing model and a library of building blocks — filters, waveshapers, delay lines, envelope followers.
- A parameter system that handles smoothing, ranges, units and preset serialisation so each effect doesn't reinvent it.
- Hardware abstractions for pots, switches, encoders and LEDs, with the same API whether the "hardware" is a physical panel or a plugin UI.
- Build tooling that produces an AU/VST3 plugin and a hardware firmware image from one project.
Why it's open
A pedal shop shouldn't have to build this to ship an effect, and the effects themselves are where the identity is — not the plumbing. The platform is Apache-2.0. Build a commercial pedal on it; that's what it's for.
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